because geeks are curious

A Heaping Helping Of Honesty

I recently read a book that I just loved! I want to write about it, but I’m not that good at book reviews. I might ramble a bit. But here goes nothin.

This book was one of those rare finds; a gem. I somehow discovered a blogger named JS Park a few weeks ago. Turns out he’s written several books (I’m already reading a second one of his). I liked what he blogged about so much that I had to read his longer more focused stuff.

The main topic that drew my interest was the struggle that people have doubting God and wrestling with faith. You could say I’ve had that struggle. You could also say I’ve struggled with admitting such a struggle.

That points to what I think drew me in the most about JS Park’s writing: he is very open and honest. It’s disarming. I don’t have to be defensive against feeling judged by him because he doesn’t hide the fact he’s as broken as any normal human being.

So yeah, I’m gonna read me some more of that.

We all have struggles. That’s life. But in a survival-of-the-fittest world, it is not fitting to reveal your weaknesses. That’s how you get eaten alive, right? So people play tough. Yet we know we shouldn’t come off all macho like we’ve got it all together. It’s too unbelievable. Someone will call our bluff.

So we sometimes admit we struggle, but we won’t go deeper than that. It’s too vulnerable. We’ll say we struggle in general, but we don’t really want to show our specific struggles.

Anyways, maybe you can relate to something like that just as I do.

The book, “What The Church Won’t Talk About,” is just awesome. It’s got a lot of meat. Each chapter kinda covers certain topics or themes. It’s easy to skip around to whatever questions you find most relevant to you. And there are many real questions.

Some of the questions asked are the same ones, of course, that I myself have harbored (and not had the guts to ask)! These taboo questions may hit you in the guts.

Here are some of the topics. I got this list from Amazon’s page for the book. (And no, I don’t make money off anything on my blog.)

“What about: Porn addiction? Homosexuality? Self-harm and cutting? Sex before marriage? Suicidal thoughts? The evil in the world? And long dry seasons of doubt?”

“From sex, dating, sexuality, doubts, depression, pornography, abortion, apologetics, to family drama, these were questions that we’ve always wanted to ask in church, but were too afraid to stir the status quo.”

The author does not simply say the answer to everything is, “Jesus.” Nor does he just flatly blame sin for all the troubles we all have. He does not come off so simple. He shows respect, dignity, and also knowledge.

Seriously, I can tell from his writing that he’s not just giving you knowledge from his head. You know, he’s not just trying to have an answer or “the answer” to everything. He’s sharing his heartfelt compassion. And he admits when and where his answers are insufficient. But he does his best.

Yes, I know, it’s trite or cliché…but “I care how much he knows because I know (trust) how much he cares.”

I totally recommend this book to anyone who “tried church” and gave up. Also, to anyone who just has these real honest questions and you are still unsatisfied with the answers so far.